FIFA, CAF Shift AFCON To 2022

FIFA, CAF Shift AFCON To 2022

By Admin

Federation of International Football Associations, FIFA, has endorsed the move by the Confederation of African Football, CAF, to reschedule the Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON to 2022.

CAF through an online Executive Committee meeting in June voted to postpone the AFCON from January 2021 to 2022, while moving the African Nations Championship (CHAN) to 2021.

And the FIFA council meeting last Tuesday affirmed CAF’s decision after it revealed changes to its international football calendar and scheduled the AFCON for 2022 in Cameroon.

The change which is attributed to the disruption caused by the global outbreak of the novel coronavirus comes after thorough consultations with CAF and other football stakeholders.

“This process resulted in proposals via the FIFA-Confederations COVID-19 Working Group that maintain the previously agreed principle that a tailor-made and flexible approach between confederations is required,” FIFA said in a statement

“Reflecting the varied circumstances of the pandemic across the world. The main changes include the new period of January 2022 for the CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), with the exact dates to be determined at a later stage.

The 2021 edition of the AFCON was originally set to take place between June and July 2021 but was moved January/February due to unfavorable weather conditions in the host nation Cameroon.

The new dates for the 33rd edition of Africa’s premier football tournament are yet to be confirmed, but the host remains Cameroon with CAF expected to confirm the new dates at a later meeting.

With AFCON confirmed for 2022, this clears space on the calendar for CHAN to be held early next year also in Cameroon with CAF earlier confirming the postponement of the tournament to January 2021.

Currently only two qualifying match rounds have been played, with 48 teams split into 12 qualifying groups, with the top two in each group progressing to the finals.

The Uganda Cranes are drawn in Group B alongside Burkina Faso, Malawi and South Sudan. The Cranes are top of the group level on points with Burkina Faso on four points but with a better goal difference.